Surface cleaning apparatus and communication method

ABSTRACT

A surface cleaning apparatus can include a user control portion and a surface cleaning portion, with the surface cleaning portion positioned remotely or spaced from the user control portion. The user control portion can include a power source. The surface cleaning portion can include a processor. The power source and the processor can be operably coupled by a power line.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/781,178, filed Dec. 18, 2018, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Surface cleaning apparatuses such as vacuum cleaners are well-knowndevices for removing dirt and debris (which can include dirt, dust,soil, hair, and other debris) from a variety of surfaces such as softflooring including carpets and rugs, hard or bare flooring, includingtile, hardwood, laminate, vinyl, and linoleum, or other fabric surfacessuch as upholstery. Such surface cleaning apparatuses typically includea user control portion, which can include a user interface or at leastone control button or switch, and a surface cleaning portion operablycoupled to the user control portion. The user control portion and thesurface cleaning portion can be located remotely from one another withinthe surface cleaning apparatus and operably coupled via at least one ofa power line or a communications line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

In one aspect, the disclosure relates to a powerline communicationsystem for controlling a function or operation of at least one componentwithin a surface cleaning device, the powerline communication systemincluding a power source, at least one user control adapted to receivean input from a user, a controller located remotely from the at leastone user control and configured to control operation of the at least onecomponent, and a power line electrically coupling the power source, thecontroller, and the at least one component and wherein the power line isfurther adapted to provide a communication signal between the at leastone user control and the controller.

The disclosure also relates to a vacuum cleaner including a baseassembly including a base housing having a suction nozzle and adaptedfor movement along a surface to be cleaned, an upper unit pivotallycoupled to the base housing and having a handle, at least one usercontrol located on the upper unit, the at least one user control adaptedto receive an input from a user, a suction source in fluid communicationwith the suction nozzle for generating a working airstream through thevacuum cleaner, a power source, at least one electrical componentprovided with the base housing, a controller located remotely from theat least one user control and configured to control operation of the atleast one electrical component, and a power line electrically couplingthe power source, the controller, and the at least one electricalcomponent and wherein the power line is further adapted to transmit acommunication signal between the at least one user control and thecontroller.

The disclosure further relates to a method of communication for asurface cleaning apparatus, the method including outputting power via aDC battery-powered source through a power line, receiving a user inputat a user control, generating an input to a toggle switch based on thereceiving the user input, outputting a pulse width modulation signalalong the power line to a controller during the outputting power andoperating, via the controller, a component of the surface cleaningapparatus based on the pulse width modulation signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a surface cleaning apparatushaving a user control portion and a surface cleaning portion accordingto various aspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a communication apparatus betweenthe user control portion and the surface cleaning portion.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a vacuum cleaner according to aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the base unit of FIG. 4 with portionsremoved according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the diverter assembly of FIG. 5 withportions removed.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view through line V-V of FIG. 6 withportions removed.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the base unit of FIG. 5 with portionsremoved according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the diverter assembly of FIG. 8 withportions removed.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view through line VIII-VIII of FIG. 9 withportions removed.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the base unit 14 of FIG. 4 with thediverter member in a down position.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the base unit 14 of FIG. 4 with thediverter member in an up position.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view through line XI-XI of FIG. 11.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view through line XII-XII of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 3 with thehandle in the folded position.

FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the vacuum cleaner handle of FIG. 4.

FIG. 17 is an exploded view of the interlocking assembly of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view through line XVI-XVI of FIG. 4 withthe trigger not in a locked position.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view through line XVI-XVI of FIG. 4 withthe trigger in an unlocked pivoting position.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of a surface cleaning apparatus according tovarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the surface cleaning apparatus of FIG.20 in the form of a hand held vacuum cleaner including a base assemblyand an upright assembly according to various aspects described herein.

FIG. 22 is a partially-exploded view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a side sectional view of the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 21 alongline XXIII-XXIII.

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a hand grip of FIG. 21 including a userinterface according to various aspects described herein.

FIG. 25 is a partially-exploded view of the hand grip of FIG. 24 with auser interface in a first configuration.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view of the hand grip and user interface of FIG.25.

FIG. 27 is a sectional view of a handheld vacuum cleaner portion of theupright assembly of FIG. 21 along line XXIII-XXIII.

FIG. 28 is a sectional view of a dirt separation and collection modulein the handheld vacuum cleaner portion of FIG. 27 according to variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 29A-B illustrates an emptying process for the dirt separation andcollection module of FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is a partially-exploded view of a wand of the vacuum cleaner ofFIG. 21 according to various aspects described herein.

FIG. 31 is a sectional view of the assembled wand of FIG. 30 along lineXXXI-XXXI.

FIG. 32 is a partially-exploded view of another wand that can beutilized in the vacuum cleaner of FIG. 21 according to various aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 33 is a sectional view of the assembled wand of FIG. 32 along lineXXXIII-XXXIII.

FIG. 34 is a partially-exploded view of the base assembly of FIG. 21according to various aspects described herein.

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of a brushroll that can be utilized in thebase assembly of FIG. 21 according to various aspects described herein.

FIG. 36 is a sectional view of the base assembly of FIG. 21.

FIG. 37 is a partially-exploded view of the base assembly of FIG. 21illustrating an alternate brushroll that can be utilized in the baseassembly.

FIG. 38 is a sectional view of the base assembly of FIG. 21.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a method of communication within asurface cleaning apparatus. The method of communication can be usedwithin a variety of surface cleaning apparatuses having a power sourceconnected to a remote processor via a power line. Non-limiting examplesof such suitable surface cleaning apparatuses for cleaning debris from asurface include a portable or handheld surface cleaner, which can be inthe form of a stick vacuum or wand vacuum, an upright vacuum cleaner, acanister cleaner, a cordless surface cleaner, including a stick cleaner,sweeper, or mop, an autonomous or robotic surface cleaner, an extractioncleaner, steam and hard floor cleaners, lift-off upright to portablecleaners, or commercial surface cleaners.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of various functional systems of asurface cleaning apparatus 2. The surface cleaning apparatus 2 caninclude a user control portion 2 a and a surface cleaning portion 2 b.The surface cleaning portion 2 b is the portion of the surface cleaningapparatus 2 that contacts the surface to be cleaned for the removal ofdirt and debris from the surface. In one example, the surface cleaningportion 2 b can be a foot or base of a surface cleaning apparatus 2. Theuser control portion 2 a can be any portion of the surface cleaningapparatus 2 that includes at least one user control 3 for receiving auser input to control various features of the surface cleaning apparatus2. Non-limiting examples of such an at least one user control include auser interface, buttons, switches, and mode selectors.

The user control portion 2 a and the surface cleaning portion 2 b can belocated remotely from one another. The term remote includes that theyare spaced apart within the surface cleaning apparatus 2. By way ofnon-limiting example, the remotely located user control portion 2 a andsurface cleaning portion 2 b can be provided as a user control portion 2a provided on a handle or an upright portion of a surface cleaner whilethe surface cleaning portion 2 b is the base or foot of a surfacecleaner, a user control portion 2 a provided at a handle with a surfacecleaning portion 2 b provided on a canister, or a user control portion 2a on a top surface of an autonomous or robotic surface cleaner and asurface cleaning portion 2 b at a floor-contacting lower surface of theautonomous or robotic surface cleaner. The user control portion 2 a canbe operably coupled to a power source 4 for powering the variousoperational features of the surface cleaning apparatus 2, includingfeatures provided with or located on the surface cleaning portion 2 b.In one aspect, the power source 4 can be located adjacent to or near theuser control portion 2 a, and spaced apart from or remotely from thesurface cleaning portion 2 b. The surface cleaning portion 2 b caninclude a controller or processor 5 for receiving control informationand power from the power source 4.

The power source 4 can be operably coupled to the processor 5 on thesurface cleaning portion 2 b by a power line 6. In one aspect, the powerline 6 can be a DC power line. The processor 5 can be any suitableprocessor 5 capable of receiving communication from the power line 6,non-limiting examples of which include a microcontroller unit (MCU), aprinted circuit board (PCB) or printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), orother basic processor 5. The power line 6 can couple to the processor 5by any suitable power connector, such as a two pin connector. While thepower line 6 is illustrated as the only connection between the usercontrol portion 2 a and the surface cleaning portion 2 b it will beunderstood that other components, fluid pathways, etc. can link the usercontrol portion 2 a and the surface cleaning portion 2 b.

In a conventional surface cleaning apparatus 2, when the user controlportion 2 a and the surface cleaning portion 2 b are located remotelyfrom one another or spaced apart from one another within the surfacecleaning apparatus 2, a communications line, separate from the powerline 6, is provided to convey control signals from the user controlportion 2 a to the surface cleaning portion 2 b. The inclusion of acommunications line results in added cost of manufacturing the surfacecleaning apparatus 2. In the aspects of the present disclosure, anapparatus and method are provided that allow for control signals to beprovided from the user control portion 2 a and the power source 4 to thesurface cleaning portion 2 b and the processor 5 via the power line 6itself, without the need for an additional communications line.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the communication apparatus forthe surface cleaning apparatus 2 and which allows for control signals tobe provided from the user control portion 2 a and the power source 4 tothe surface cleaning portion 2 b and the processor 5 via the power line6 itself. A powerline communication system for a DC battery-poweredsurface cleaning device wherein a DC powerline that connects a “remote”power source and user control (e.g. in handle) to a processor and one ormore electrically powered components in a surface cleaning portion (e.g.the foot) is also used to communicate signals between the user controland processor.

In this example, the at least one user control 3 is illustrated, by wayof non-limiting example, as a mode selector 3 a by which a user canselect between cleaning modes of operation of the surface cleaningapparatus 2. The mode selector 3 a can selectively occupy one of a firstposition 3 b, a second position 3 c, a third position 3 d, or a fourthposition 3 e, by way of non-limiting examples, to select the differentdesired mode of operation. Such positions have been schematicallyillustrated as boxes for illustrative purposes. By way of non-limitingexample, the modes of operation to be selected from can include an autosensing mode, a carpet mode, a hard floor mode, or an edge mode. In oneexample, one mode of operation can correspond to each of the firstposition 3 b, second position 3 c, third position 3 d, and fourthposition 3 e of the mode selector 3 a.

The mode selector 3 a is operably coupled with a toggle switch 7provided within the surface cleaning apparatus 2, which can be anysuitable toggle switch 7, a non-limiting example of which includes asolid-state switch. The toggle switch 7 receives an input from the modeselector 3 a via the power line 6, the input from the mode selector 3 aindicative of the mode selected by the user. The toggle switch 7 is, inturn, operably coupled with the processor 5 via the power line 6, suchthat the toggle switch 7 can then introduce a pulse width modulation(PWM) signal to the processor 5 over the power line 6, the PWM signalprovided to the processor 5 via the power line 6 corresponding to themode input received by the toggle switch 7 from the mode selector 3 a.In this way, the mode selected by the user at the mode selector 3 agenerates an input to the toggle switch 7 that determines the pulsewidth of the PWM signal then provided from the toggle switch 7 to theprocessor 5 to cause an operation at the surface cleaning portion 2 bthat corresponds to the mode selected by the user via the mode selector3 a.

During normal operation of the surface cleaning apparatus 2, when thetoggle switch 7 is not introducing a PWM signal over the power line 6,the signal transmitted over the power line 6 from the user controlportion 2 a to the processor 5 of the surface cleaning portion 2 b istypically high or uninterrupted, and can be thought of as representing100% power transmission via the power line 6 and this is schematicallyillustrated with a line indicated as 6 e. When a communication signal istransmitted from the user control to provide an input indicating adifferent mode of operation to the toggle switch 7, the toggle switch 7is prompted to introduce or toggle the PWM signal over the power line 6.PWM is a method of communication by generating a pulsing signal. In thisexample, the toggle switch 7 generates the pulsing signal to betransmitted via the power line 6. The pulse width of the PWM signalencodes the communication signal either by the duty cycle of the PWMsignal or the frequency of the PWM signal.

During normal operation of the surface cleaning apparatus 2, when thetoggle switch 7 is not introducing a PWM signal over the power line 6,the 100% power transmission, illustrated schematically at 6 e, via thepower line 6 defines a regular interval or period of current suppliedthrough the power line 6. When the toggle switch 7 is prompted tointroduce the PWM signal that is transmitted to the power line 6, thepower signal is pulsed, such that the ‘on’ time of the power supply isless than 100% power transmission, or less than the regular interval orperiod of current. The term duty cycle refers to the proportion orpercentage of ‘on’ time of the PWM signal to the regular interval orperiod of the power transmitted through the power line 6. A low dutycycle corresponds to low power, because the power is off for a greaterpercentage of the time than it is on. A high duty cycle corresponds tohigh power, because the power is on for a greater percentage of the timethan it is off. For example, a duty cycle of 50% refers to a powersignal that is on half the time and off half the time. The frequency ofthe PWM signal is simply the inverse of the pulse width.

In response to the mode of operation input provided from the modeselector 3 a to the toggle switch 7, the duty cycle generated by the PWMsignal from the toggle switch 7 can provide an input to the processor 5of the surface cleaning portion 2 b, the processor 5 configured toaffect a particular function at the surface cleaning portion 2 b inresponse to the characteristics of the PWM signal received. The functioneffected by the processor 5 can also or alternately include control of acomponent 8 provided at the surface cleaning portion 2 b that isoperably coupled with the processor 5 to be controlled by the processor5 in response to the PWM signal received at the processor 5. In theillustrated example where the user control 3 is a mode selector 3 a withmultiple positions corresponding to different modes of operation, it iscontemplated that, by way of non-limiting example, an 80% duty cycle 6 dcan provide an input to the processor 5 to indicate that the surfacecleaning portion 2 b should be operated in the auto sensing mode, a 60%duty cycle 6 c can provide an input to the processor 5 to indicate thatthe surface cleaning portion 2 b should be operated in the carpet mode,a 40% duty cycle 6 b can provide an input to the processor 5 to indicatethat the surface cleaning portion 2 b should be operated in the hardfloor mode, and a 20% duty cycle 6 a can provide an input to theprocessor 5 to indicate that the surface cleaning portion 2 b should beoperated in the edge mode. While the 6 a-6 e power transmissions havebeen separately shown for illustrative purposes it will be understoodthat such transmissions are all over the same power line 6.

While the example described herein refers to selecting a mode ofoperation for the surface cleaning apparatus 2, it will be understoodthat the method of communicating via the power line 6 can be used tocontrol any function or component 8 of the surface cleaning apparatus 2that is provided at the surface cleaning portion 2 b, non-limitingexamples of which include modes of operation, an agitator, a dustingassembly, a fluid distributor, a steam generator, sensors, such as anultrasonic floor-type sensor, and mechanically actuated features, suchas a lift or a door that can raise or lower the height of the surfacecleaning portion 2 b relative to the surface to be cleaned, which can beselected based on a floor type detected. Any suitable function orcomponent can be controlled such that the PWM signal input sensed by theprocessor 5 signals the processor 5 to effect a change or an action atthe surface cleaning portion 2 b.

In addition to reducing cost and complexity of the surface cleaningapparatus 2 by obviating the need for a separate communications linebetween the user control portion 2 a and the surface cleaning portion 2b in addition to the power line 6, another advantage of thecommunication method via the power line 6 described herein is that thepower transmitted via the power line 6 is essentially uninterrupted tothe surface cleaning portion 2 b. The toggle switch 7 generates the PWMsignal to the power line 6, but the PWM signal makes up a small voltagecompared to the total voltage generated by the power source 4, as wellas modulating the pulse width only for a percentage of the time, suchthat the power to the processor 5 is essentially uninterrupted as far asthe load at the surface cleaning portion 2 b. Thus, the PWM signal canbe used to provide communication via the power line 6 withoutsignificantly hampering the ability of the power line 6 to provide thenecessary power to the surface cleaning portion 2 b from the powersource 4. Further yet, voltage dividers, such as a potential divider ora resistor voltage divider, can be operably coupled with the power line6 or the processor 5 to knock down the voltage of the signal to asuitable level that can be sensed or read by the processor 5.

Referring now to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic view of avacuum cleaner 10 and a perspective view of the vacuum cleaner 10,respectively, that can include the communication apparatus and method asdescribed above, according to aspects of the present disclosure. Thevacuum cleaner 10 is shown herein as a stick-type vacuum cleaner, with ahousing including an upper unit 12 coupled with a base unit 14 adaptedto be moved over a surface to be cleaned S. The vacuum cleaner 10 canalternatively be configured as an upright-type vacuum cleaner, acanister-type vacuum cleaner, or a hand-held vacuum cleaner.Furthermore, the vacuum cleaner 10 can additionally be configured todistribute a fluid and/or to extract a fluid, where the fluid may forexample be liquid or steam.

The upper unit 12 is pivotally mounted to the base unit 14 for movementbetween an upright storage position, shown in FIG. 4, and a reclined useposition (not shown). The vacuum cleaner 10 can be provided with adetent mechanism, such as a pedal pivotally mounted to the base unit 14,for selectively releasing the upper unit 12 from the storage position tothe use position. The details of such a detent pedal are known in theart, and will not be discussed in further detail herein.

The upper unit 12 can include a vacuum collection system for creating apartial vacuum to suck up debris (which may include dirt, dust, soil,hair, and other debris) from the surface to be cleaned S and collectingthe removed debris in a space provided on the vacuum cleaner 10 forlater disposal.

The upper unit 12 includes a suction source 16 in fluid communicationwith the base unit 14 for generating a working airstream and aseparating and collection assembly 18 for separating and collectingdebris (which can be solid, liquid, or a combination thereof) from theworking airstream for later disposal. The upper unit 12 further includesa handle 28 to facilitate movement of the vacuum cleaner 10 by a user. Ahandle coupler 30 can receive the proximal end of the handle 28, whichmay be fixed with respect to the upper unit 12, or may pivot to allowthe handle 28 to rotate or fold about a horizontal axis relative to theupper unit 12. As illustrated, the handle 28 is pivotally mounted to theupper unit 12 via handle coupler 30 for movement between an uprightposition, shown in FIG. 4, and a folded position, shown in FIG. 15. Thehandle 28 may further include the power switch 36 as well as othercontrols and indicators used during operation. The handle 28 may furtherinclude a handle grip 32 opposite the handle coupler 30.

In one configuration illustrated herein, the collection assembly 18 caninclude a cyclone separator 22 for separating contaminants from aworking airstream and a removable debris cup 24 for receiving andcollecting the separated contaminants from the cyclone separator 22. Thecyclone separator 22 can have a single cyclonic separation stage, ormultiple stages. In another configuration, the collection assembly 18can include an integrally formed cyclone separator 22 and debris cup 24,with the debris cup 24 being provided with a structure, such as abottom-opening debris door, for contaminant disposal. It is understoodthat other types of collection assemblies 18 can be used, such as acentrifugal separator, a bulk separator, a filter bag, or a water-bathseparator. The upper unit 12 can also be provided with one or moreadditional filters 20 upstream or downstream of the separating andcollection assembly 18 or the suction source 16.

The suction source 16, such as a motor/fan assembly, is provided influid communication with the separating and collection assembly 18, andcan be positioned downstream or upstream of the separating andcollection assembly 18. The suction source 16 can be electricallycoupled to a power source 34, such as a battery or by a power cordplugged into a household electrical outlet. A suction power switch 36disposed between the suction source 16 and the power source 34 can beselectively closed by the user upon pressing a vacuum power button 35,thereby activating the suction source 16. As shown herein, the suctionsource 16 is downstream of the separating and collection assembly 18 fora ‘clean air’ system; alternatively, the suction source 16 can beupstream of the separation and collection assembly 18 for a ‘dirty air’system.

In another configuration, the separation and collection assembly 18,suction source 16, filters 20, power source 34 and power switch 36 mayall be disposed within a removable hand-held unit 26 which is removablefrom the upper unit 12. When disposed in the upper unit 12, thehand-held unit 26 provides the separation and collection assembly 18,suction source 16, filters 20 and power source 34 for the vacuum cleaner10. When removed from the upper unit 12, the hand-held unit 26 mayoperate independently from the upper unit 12 to create partial vacuum tosuck up debris (which may include dirt, dust, soil, hair, and otherdebris) from the surface to be cleaned S. It is noted that features ofthe present disclosure may be applicable to vacuum cleaners not having ahand-held unit.

The base unit 14 is in fluid communication with the suction source 16for engaging and cleaning the surface to be cleaned S. The base unit 14includes a base housing 40 having a suction nozzle 42 at least partiallydisposed on the underside and front of the base housing 40. The basehousing 40 can secure an agitator 38 within the base unit 14 foragitating debris on the surface to be cleaned S so that the debris ismore easily ingested into the suction nozzle 42. Some examples ofagitators 38 include, but are not limited to, a rotatable brushroll,dual rotating brushrolls, or a stationary brush. The agitator 38illustrated herein is a rotatable brushroll positioned within the baseunit 14 adjacent the suction nozzle 42 for rotational movement about anaxis X, and can be coupled to and driven by a dedicated agitator motorprovided in the base unit 14 via a commonly known arrangement includinga drive belt. Alternatively, the agitator 38 can be coupled to anddriven by the suction source 16 in the upper unit 12. It is within thescope of the present disclosure for the agitator 38 to be mounted withinthe base unit 14 in a fixed or floating vertical position relative tothe base unit 14.

The vacuum cleaner 10 can be used to effectively clean the surface to becleaned S by removing debris (which may include dirt, dust, soil, hair,and other debris) from the surface to be cleaned S in accordance withthe following method. The sequence of steps discussed is forillustrative purposes only and is not meant to limit the method in anyway as it is understood that the steps may proceed in a differentlogical order, additional or intervening steps may be included, ordescribed steps may be divided into multiple steps, without detractingfrom the aspects of the present disclosure.

To perform vacuum cleaning in the canister configuration shown in FIG.3, the suction source 16 is coupled to the power source 34 and draws indebris-laden air through the base unit 14 and into the separating andcollection assembly 18 where the debris is substantially separated fromthe working air. The air flow then passes through the suction source 16,and through any optional filters 20 positioned upstream and/ordownstream from the suction source 16, prior to being exhausted from thevacuum cleaner 10. During vacuum cleaning, the agitator 38 can agitatedebris on the surface to be cleaned S so that the debris is more easilyingested into the suction nozzle 42. The separating and collectionassembly 18 can be periodically emptied of debris. Likewise, theoptional filters 20 can periodically be cleaned or replaced.

FIG. 5 is the base unit 14 from FIG. 4 according to aspects of thepresent disclosure with portions of the base housing 40 removed. Thebase housing 40 encloses components of the base unit 14 to create apartially enclosed space therein. The agitator 38 is provided at aforward portion of the base housing 40. The base housing 40 can alsoinclude a sole plate 44 fastened to the underside of the base housing 40to secure the agitator 38 within the base housing 40 and define thesuction nozzle 42.

The suction nozzle 42 includes a suction nozzle opening defined by anunderside suction nozzle opening 43 formed in the underside of the soleplate 44 and a front suction nozzle opening 41 formed in the front ofthe sole plate 44 and front the base housing 40. The suction nozzleopenings 41, 43 are in fluid communication with a duct 48 coupled at oneend to the base housing 40, which fluidly communicates the suctionnozzle openings 41, 43 with the collection assembly 18 (FIG. 4). It willbe understood that the underside suction nozzle opening 43 and the frontsuction nozzle opening 41 may be formed from a single opening in thesole plate 44 and may be considered to be a single opening.Alternatively, the suction nozzle openings 41, 43 may be considered tobe separate openings wherein the suction nozzle 42 may be provided withat least one of the underside suction nozzle opening 43 or the frontsuction nozzle opening 41.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-6, the base unit 14 can further include asuction nozzle opening diverter assembly 50 including a diverting member52, two pivoting members 54, a solenoid piston 56, a diverter biasingspring 58 and edge illuminators 60 configured to selectively restrict aportion of the suction nozzle 42 and provide illumination when therestricting occurs. The diverter member 52 extends along the front ofthe base housing 40 between the front vertical edges of two verticalside walls 62 with a middle portion bottom edge 88 of the divertermember 52 defining the upper boundary of the front suction nozzleopening 41 and the upper edge of the diverter member 52 in communicationwith a front portion of the base housing 40 (best seen in FIGS. 11 and12). Opposing diverter member ends 82 are elevated upward with respectthe diverter member middle 84 such that the end portion bottom edges 86of the diverter member ends 82 are elevated higher than the middleportion bottom edge 88 of the diverter member middle 84.

The two pivoting members 54 extend substantially perpendicularly fromthe diverter member 52 along the sides of the base housing 40 towardsthe rear of the base housing 40. The pivoting members 54 are providedwith an aperture 80 that receives a horizontal pin (not shown) disposedin the base housing 40 for pivotally mounting the pivoting members 54 tothe base housing 40 wherein the two apertures 80 axially align, defininga pivot axis Y. Alternatively, a pin may be provided on the pivotingmembers 54 and an aperture for receiving the axles in the base housing40. The rear end of at least one pivoting members 54 is further providedwith a spring mount 90 and a diverter end portion 92 having an inverteddiverter end wedge 94 disposed on the lower side of the diverter endportion 92 sloping upwardly towards the solenoid piston 56.

The solenoid piston 56 is disposed in the rear of the base housing 40and is configured to selectively engage at least one of the pivotingmembers 54. The solenoid piston 56 is of conventional design andincludes a stationary housing 64 having an inductive coil (not shown)mounted therein, connected to a power supply, and configured to surrounda piston 66 having a cone-shaped termination cap 96. The solenoid piston56 is selectively movable between a horizontally extended position and aretracted position when the inductive coil is alternately energized andde-energized wherein the termination cap 96 is in communication with thediverter end wedge 94 of the diverter end portion 92 when extended andnot in communication when retracted.

The edge illuminators 60 are mounted in the base housing 40 along thetwo vertical side walls 62 behind light transmitting screens 63 whichmay form a portion of the vertical side walls 62 such that lightilluminated from the edge illuminators 60 pass through the lighttransmitting screens 63. The edge illuminators 60 can be selected fromknown constructions, including light emitting diodes (LED) orincandescent lamps, for example. The edge illuminators 60 are ofconventional construction and include at least one lens (not shown), atleast one light emitting element (LED) (not shown), a printed circuitboard (PCB) 74 and electrical leads 76.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-5, electrical conductor leads 68 extend fromthe solenoid piston 56 and the edge illuminators 60 electrical leads 76,routing through the base unit 14 through the upper unit 12 and handle28, and are connected to an electrical switch 70 housed in the handle28. The electrical switch 70 is, in turn, connected to a power source 72to selectively energize the solenoid piston 56 and edge illuminators 60.In this manner it will be understood that the It will be understood thatthe electrical leads and electrical conductor leads form a power line.The electrical switch 70 may be operatively coupled to a conventionalpush button 75 disposed in the front portion of the handle 28 asillustrated or a “rocker” or toggle switch 73 (FIG. 5) as is commonlyknown in the art can be included on a portion of the power line suchthat it becomes selectively engaged when a user engages the push button75.

An optional visual indicator, such as an indicator light 78, may bemounted to upper portion of the handle 28 for indicating when thesolenoid piston 56 and edge illuminators 60 have been activated. Theindicator light 78 can be selected from known constructions, includinglight emitting diodes (LED) or incandescent lamps, for example. Theindicator light 78 is of conventional construction and includes a lens(not shown), a light emitting element (LED) (not shown), and electricalleads (not shown) connected in series with the electrical switch 70,solenoid piston 56 and edge illuminators 60.

It will be understood that the operation of the vacuum cleaner 10 can becontrolled via one or more controllers 77 (FIG. 5) operatively coupledwith one or more components of the vacuum cleaner 10. For example, acontroller can be operably coupled with the agitator 38 and suctionsource 16 to adjust the rotation of the agitator 38 or operation of thesuction source 16. The controller (FIG. 7) can include a printed circuitboard (PCB) operably coupled with a user interface or user control.Alternatively, the controller can be a portion of the component itselfsuch a motor controller.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the diverter assembly 50 and solenoidpiston 56 of FIG. 6 taken along line V-V and more clearly illustratesthe interaction between the termination cap 96 and the diverter endwedge 94. The cone shape of the termination cap 96 forms a piston wedge98 sloping towards the diverter end portion 92. The piston wedge 98 isin register with, but does not fully engage the diverter end wedge 94when the piston 66 of the solenoid piston 56 is in the retractedposition as illustrated. When the piston 66 is extended, the pistonwedge 98 engages the diverter end wedge 94.

The piston wedge 98 converts the horizontal force of the piston 66 intoa force perpendicular to the piston wedge 98 having horizontal andvertical components and imparts it to the diverter end wedge 94. As thepiston 66 extends, the diverter end wedge 94 and piston wedge 98 sliprelative to each other such that the diverter end portion 92 pivotsupward about the pivot axis Y. When the piston 66 is again retracted,the piston wedge 98 and the diverter end wedge 94 disengage and thediverter end portion 92 pivots downwards due to the tension force of thediverter biasing spring 58 shown in FIG. 6. The movement of the piston66 and diverter end portion 92 are schematically illustrated by arrows100. It will be understood that the forces imparted on the diverter endwedge 94 by the solenoid piston 56 when the piston 66 is extended may beoptimized to overcome all resistive forces such as friction, weight andspring tension in order provide for upward movement of the diverter endportion 92. It will also be understood that the diverter biasing spring58 may have a spring rate that is optimized to overcome all resistiveforces such as friction and weight in order to provide for downwardmovement of the diverter end portion 92 when the piston 66 is retracted.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the diverter member 52 is configured toselectively pivot about the pivot axis Y so as to move upwards anddownwards to selectively restrict a portion of the suction nozzle 42,thereby increasing the suction force through the unrestricted portion,given that the same volume of air is being drawn through a smalleropening. The upward movement of the diverter end portion 92 caused bythe piston 66 extending and the downward movement of the diverter endportion 92 caused by the diverter biasing spring 58 when the piston 66is retracted causes the diverter assembly 50 to pivot about the pivotaxis Y such that the diverter member 52 pivots downward and upwardrespectively as schematically illustrated by arrows 102.

Referring to FIGS. 8-9, according to aspects of the present disclosurewhere like elements from the previous disclosure are identified with thesame reference numerals and include a prime (′) symbol, the solenoidpiston 56 and indicator light 78 of the first aspect are replaced with afoot actuated pedal assembly 104. The pedal assembly 104 includes a modeindicator 106, a pivoting pedal 108, a pedal biasing spring 110, asliding wedge 112 and sliding wedge biasing spring 114. The pedalassembly 104 is disposed in the rear of the base housing 40′ and isconfigured to selectively engage at least one of the pivoting members54′. The base housing 40′ may also include a pedal recess 116 formed inthe rear vertical side of the base housing 40′ such that a portion ofthe pedal 108 may pass through the pedal recess 116 as well as anindicator recess 118 formed in the rear of the upper horizontal side ofthe base housing 40′ such that the indicator recess 118 may beselectively covered by a portion of the mode indicator 106.

The pivoting pedal 108 includes an actuating surface 120 connected to acylindrical axle 122 by an arm member 124. The actuating surface 120 isconfigured to be depressed by a user's foot. The cylindrical axle 122 ispivotally mounted to the base housing 40′ with the centerline of thecylindrical axle 122 substantially parallel to the pivot axis Y′. Thearm member 124 extends between the actuating surface 120 and thecylindrical axle 122 such that the actuating surface 120 is disposedabove and behind the cylindrical axle 122, and includes a verticalprotrusion 126 extending upwards from the top surface of the arm member124 adjacent to the actuating surface 120. The arm member 124 alsoincludes an arm wedge 125 (shown in FIG. 10) provided on the undersideof the arm member 124 which slopes toward the diverter end portion 92′of the pivoting member 54′.

The pivoting pedal 108 is configured to selectively rotate about thecylindrical axle 122 axis between an up position wherein the upperportion of the arm member 124 is in contact with the upper boundary ofthe pedal recess 116 and a down position wherein the lower surface ofthe arm member 124 is in contact with the lower boundary of the pedalrecess 116. The pedal biasing spring 110 is attached to the cylindricalaxle 122 and the base housing 40′ and provides torsion to thecylindrical axle 122 so as to bias the pivoting pedal 108 to the upposition. The pedal assembly 104 may further include a detent mechanismfor selectively securing the pivoting pedal 108 in the down position.The details of such a detent mechanism are known in the art, and willnot be discussed in further detail herein.

The mode indicator 106 includes an L-shaped indicating portion 128connected to a body portion 130. The horizontal surface of theindicating portion 128 is configured to selectively cover the indicatorrecess 118 and the vertical surface of the indicating portion extendsdownward and connects to the rear of the body portion 130. The bodyportion 130 includes a guide slot 132 extending horizontally,perpendicular to the pivot axis Y′. As seen in FIG. 10, the guide slot132 is configured to receive a stationary screw 134 wherein the screwhead 138 abuts the underside of the body portion 130 and the screw shaft140 extends through the guide slot 132 and attaches to the base housing40′ (not shown) to slidably secure the mode indicator 106 to the basehousing 40′. The body portion 130 may further include a hollowcylindrical spring holder 136 (FIG. 9) configured to receive one end ofan indicator biasing spring (not shown) wherein the other end of thespring is attached to the base housing 40′. The indicator biasing springexerts a horizontal force on the mode indicator 106 such that the rearof the body portion 130 is biased against the forward portion of thevertical protrusion 126 (FIG. 9).

As the pivoting pedal 108 is pivoted to the down position, the verticalprotrusion 126 pivots down and away from the mode indicator 106 allowingthe mode indicator 106 to move towards the rear of the base housing 40′under the spring force of the indicator biasing spring (not shown) untilthe stationary screw 134 abuts the forward portion of the guide slot 132such that the horizontal surface of the indicator portion 128 covers theindicator recess 118 formed in the base housing 40′. When the pivotingpedal 108 is returned to the up position, the vertical protrusion 126engages the mode indicator 106 and moves it forward such that thehorizontal surface of the indicating portion 128 does not cover theindicator recess 118.

The sliding wedge 112 forms an elongated structure extending parallel tothe pivot axis Y′ wherein one side of the sliding wedge 112 forms asliding pedal wedge 142 and spring mount 144, and the opposing sideforms a sliding diverter wedge 146. The sliding pedal wedge 142 slopesdownwardly and away from the diverter end portion 92′ and is disposedbeneath the arm wedge 125 (FIG. 10) of the pivoting pedal 108. Thesliding diverter wedge 146 slopes downwardly and towards the diverterend portion 92′ and is adjacent to the diverter end wedge 94′ of thediverter end portion 92′. The spring mount 144 is formed at the bottomof the sliding pedal wedge 142 and is configured to attach to one end ofthe sliding wedge biasing spring 114. The opposite end of the spring 114is attached to the base housing 40′.

The sliding wedge 112 is configured to linearly slide along the bottomof the base housing 40′ towards and away from the diverter end portion92′ along an axis parallel to the pivot axis Y′. The base housing 40′may include a track or guide to ensure a linear sliding path. Thesliding wedge biasing spring 114 is configured to bias the sliding wedge112 away from the diverter end portion 92′.

The switch 70′ may be disposed in the base housing 40′ wherein theswitch is, in turn, connected to power source 72′ to selectivelyenergize edge illuminators 60′. The switch 70′ may be configured suchthat actuating the pivoting pedal 108 to the down position energizes theedge illuminators 60′. Alternatively, a sensor may be provided in thebase housing 40′ to sense when the pivoting pedal 108 has been actuatedand activate the switch 70′, thereby energizing the edge illuminators60′.

FIG. 10 shows a cross section of the diverter assembly 50′ and pedalassembly 104 of FIG. 10 taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 9 and moreclearly illustrates the interaction between the pivoting pedal 108, thesliding wedge 112 and the diverter end wedge 94′ of the diverter endportion 92′. The arm wedge 125 on the pedal 108 is disposed above and inregister, but not fully engaged with the sliding pedal wedge 142 whenthe pivoting pedal 108 is in the up position as illustrated. When thepivoting pedal 108 is depressed to the down position, the arm wedge 125converts the downward force of the pivoting pedal 108 into a forceperpendicular to the arm wedge 125 having horizontal and verticalcomponents and imparts it to the sliding pedal wedge 142. As thepivoting pedal 108 travels downward, the arm wedge 125 and the slidingpedal wedge 142 slip relative to each other such that the sliding wedge112 moves horizontally and the sliding diverter wedge 146 engages thediverter end wedge 94′ of the diverter end portion 92′. The slidingdiverter wedge 146 converts the horizontal force of the sliding wedge112 into a force perpendicular to the piston wedge 98 having horizontaland vertical components and imparts it to the diverter end wedge 94′. Asthe sliding wedge 112 continues sliding, the diverter end wedge 94′ andsliding diverter wedge 146 slip relative to each other such that thediverter end portion 92′ pivots upward about the pivot axis Y′. When thepivoting pedal 108 is again returned to the up position, the slidingwedge 112 slides away from the diverter end portion 92′ under thetension force of the sliding wedge biasing spring 114 such that thesliding diverter wedge 146 and diverter end wedge 94′ disengage and thediverter end portion 92′ pivots downwards due to the tension force ofthe diverter biasing spring 58′ shown in FIG. 8. The movement of thepivoting pedal 108, sliding wedge 112 and diverter end portion 92′ areschematically illustrated by arrows 148. It will be understood that thebiasing springs may have spring rates that are optimized to overcome allresistive forces such as friction, weight and spring tension in order toprovide for upward and downward movement of the diverter end portion 92′when pivoting pedal 108 is in the down or up position respectively.

The operation of the diverter assembly 50 will now be described withrespect to the first aspect of the base unit 14 shown in FIGS. 4-7.However, it is noted that the diverter assembly 50′ of the second aspectof the base unit 14′ shown in FIGS. 8-10 operates in a similar manner,and so the following description of FIGS. 11-14 also applies for thesecond aspect.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of the base unit 14 with the divertermember 52 in an up position. The base housing 40 may further include adiverter recess 152 (best seen in FIG. 12) configured to receive thediverter member 52 such that the base housing front portion 154 is flushwith the front surface of the diverter member 52 as shown. Duringoperation, the diverter member 52 in the up position allows debris ladenair to be drawn into the base unit 14 through the front suction nozzleopening 41 along the entire length of the diverter member 52 asindicated by arrows 150.

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of the base unit 14 with the divertermember 52 in a down position. When in the diverter member 52 is in thedown position the edge illuminators 60 (FIG. 5) are energized such thatlight illuminated from the edge illuminators 60 passes through the lighttransmitting screens 63 as indicated by arrows 158. During operationwhen the diverter member 52 is in the down position, the diverter membermiddle 84 restricts a portion of the front suction nozzle opening 41such that debris laden air may only be drawn into the base unit 14through the unrestricted portions of the front suction nozzle opening 41disposed under the diverter member ends 82 as illustrated by arrows 156.The restricted portion of the front suction nozzle opening 41 increasesthe suction in the unrestricted portions such that suction is focused,resulting in a higher velocity airstream created in the area under thediverter member ends 82 than when the diverter member 52 is in the upposition as shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 shows the front suction nozzle opening 41 having an open height159 defined by the height between the surface to be cleaned S and thediverter member 52 middle portion bottom edge 88. When in the downposition as shown in FIG. 14 it can be seen the middle portion bottomedge 88 abuts the surface to be cleaned S such that a closed height 161of the front suction nozzle opening 41, defined by the height betweenthe surface to be cleaned S and the diverter member 52 end portionbottom edge 86, is smaller than that of the open height 159 shown inFIG. 13.

It is noted that, regardless of the position of the diverter assembly50, i.e. regardless of whether the front suction nozzle opening 41 isunrestricted or partially restricted by the diverter member 52, theunderside suction nozzle opening 43 formed in the underside of the soleplate 44 may remain open to allows debris laden air to be drawn into thebase unit 14 through the underside suction nozzle opening 43. Thebristles of the agitator 38 can project through the underside suctionnozzle opening 43 to agitator debris on the surface to be cleaned.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 15, another aspect of the presentdisclosure relates to the pivoting handle 28 of the vacuum cleaner 10.The handle 28 is selectively pivotable between an upright position asshown in FIG. 4 and a folded position as shown in FIG. 15. A trigger 162disposed on the rear of the handle 28 is operably coupled to the handlecoupler 30 so as to selectively allow the handle 28 to be pivoted aboutthe handle coupler 30. The trigger is configured to be linearly movableto and from an unlocked pivoting position by a user pulling the trigger162 upwards. When the trigger 162 is in the locked position, the handle28 is locked in the upright position as shown in FIG. 4. When thetrigger 162 is in the unlocked pivoting position, the handle 28 maypivot to a folded position as shown in FIG. 15. It is noted that avacuum cleaner having the pivoting handle 28 described herein may becombined with either base unit 14, 14′, or may be provided with adifferent vacuum cleaner base.

FIG. 16 shows an exploded view of the handle 28. The handle 28 includesa front casing 166, a rear casing 168, an interlocking assembly 164forming a portion of the handle coupler 30, buttons 35, 75, theirassociated switches 36, 70, 73, and the trigger 162. The interlockingassembly 164 includes a trigger shaft 170 connected to an interlockingmechanism 172 and is disposed within the front casing 166 and rearcasing 168. A portion of the trigger 162 passes through the rear casing168 and couples to the upper end of the trigger shaft 170. A portion ofthe interlocking mechanism 172 couples to the upper unit 12 to form thehandle coupler 30.

FIG. 17 shows an exploded view of the interlocking mechanism 172 and thelower portion of the trigger shaft 170. The lower portion of the triggershaft 170 includes a shaft wedge 174 having bisecting inclined walls173, 175 sloping away from each other and extending perpendicular to avertical portion of the trigger shaft 170. The interlocking mechanism172 includes a first and second pivoting handle mount 178, 182, twointerlock members 186, two retention springs 198 and two upper unitstationary mounts 202.

The first and second pivoting handle mounts 178, 182 form generallycylindrical bodies having interior and exterior features and includecircular locking projections 181, 183, wherein the locking projections181 on the first pivoting handle mount 178 are configured to becoaxially received by the locking projections 183 on the second pivotinghandle mount 182. The first and second pivoting handle mount 178, 182further include a rectangular sleeve 184 configured to receive the twointerlock members 186. The first pivoting handle mount 178 furtherincludes handle mounting flanges 180 that attach to the rear casing 168(FIG. 16).

The two interlocking members 186 each include a wedge protrusion 190, amale locking connector 194 opposing the wedge protrusion 190, arectangular middle portion 191 and a void 195 configured to receive theretention spring 198.

The two upper unit stationary mounts 202 form generally cylindricalbodies having interior and exterior features and include a springretainer 210 configured to retain the two retention springs 198, upperunit mounting flanges 206, configured to attach to the upper unit 12(FIG. 16) and a rectangular female locking connector 212 disposed on theinterior of the two upper unit stationary mounts 202 configured toselectively receive the male locking connectors 194.

FIG. 18 shows a cross sectional view of FIG. 4 taken along line XVI-XVIwith the trigger 162 (FIG. 16) in the locked position. The differentcomponents of the interlocking mechanism assemble together along ahandle pivot axis Z as indicated by assembly arrows 214 shown in FIG.17. The two upper unit stationary mounts 202 and first and secondpivoting handle mounts 178, 182 assemble together such that a portion ofthe exterior of two upper unit stationary mounts 202 are received by aportion of the interior of the first and second pivoting handle mounts178, 182. The retention springs 198 are retained between the two upperunit stationary mounts 202 and the two interlocking members 186. The twointerlocking members 186 are retained between the two upper unitstationary mounts 202 and the first and second pivoting handle mounts178, 182 such that the male locking connectors 194 are received by thefemale locking connectors 212 and the wedge protrusions 190 are incommunication with the bisecting inclined walls 173, 175 of the shaftwedge 174. The interlocking members 186 are coupled to the first andsecond pivoting handle mount 178, 182 by the rectangular middle portion191 received in the rectangular sleeves 184 and the male lockingconnectors 194 engage the female locking connectors 212 to preventrotation of the interlocking members 186, therefore the first and secondpivoting handle mounts 178, 182 are prevented from pivoting as well.

FIG. 19 shows a cross sectional view of FIG. 4 taken along line XVI-XVIwith the trigger 162 (FIG. 16) in the unlocked pivoting position. Whenthe trigger 162 (FIG. 16) is in the unlocked pivoting position, thetrigger shaft 170 and shaft wedge 174 move upwards. The bisectinginclined walls 173, 175 exert a force perpendicular to the bisectinginclined walls 173, 175, having horizontal and vertical components, andimpart the movement to the wedge protrusions 190 of the interlockingmembers 186. As the trigger shaft 170 and shaft wedge 174 move upwards,the bisecting inclined walls 173, 175 and wedge protrusions 190 sliprelative to each other such that the interlocking members 186 moveoutward towards the spring retainers 210 until the male lockingconnectors 194 disengage the rectangular female locking connectors 212.Once disengaged, the interlocking members 186 are free to rotaterelative to the two upper unit stationary mounts 202 while still beingcoupled to the first and second pivoting handle mount 178, 182 connectedto the handle 28. Therefore, the trigger shaft 170, first and secondpivoting handle mount 178, 182 and interlocking members 186 all rotatetogether with the handle 28, while the two upper unit stationary mounts202 connected to the upper unit 12 do not pivot.

When the handle is returned to the upright position as shown in FIG. 4and the trigger 162 is in the locked position, the retention springs 198move the interlocking members 186 towards the shaft wedge 174 such thatthe male locking connectors 194 engage the rectangular female lockingconnectors 212 and rotation of the handle 28 is prevented. It will beunderstood the retention springs 198 may have a spring rate that isoptimized to along for disengaging movement the interlocking members 186by a user linearly moving the trigger 162 and to overcome all resistiveforces such as friction and weight in order to provide for engagingmovement of the interlocking members 186. It is contemplated that thetrigger shaft 170 can optionally be configured to actuate one or moreadditional interlocking members 186 to provide increased strength of theinterlocking mechanism 172 and increased torsional stiffness at thehandle coupler 30 joining the handle 28 to the upper unit 12. The atleast one additional locking member (not shown) can function in asubstantially similar way as the previously disclosed locking member186, but can include an alternate structure, such as a cylindrical pin,for example.

The vacuum cleaner 10 disclosed herein provides improved cleaningperformance and ease of use. One advantage that may be realized in thepractice of some aspects of the described vacuum cleaner 10 is that thevacuum cleaner 10 can be configured to selectively provide increasedsuction to the edges of the suction nozzle 42 so as to increase cleaningpotential along edges and walls. Furthermore, the edges or walls to becleaned may be automatically illuminated to increased user visibility bythe user. Another advantage is that the vacuum cleaner 10 can beconfigured such that the handle 28 may be easily folded by a simple pullof the trigger 162 by a user.

By incorporating the communication method as described with respect toFIGS. 1-2 in the vacuum cleaner 10 as described in FIGS. 3-19, a varietyof functions and features of the vacuum cleaner 10 can be controlled bythe power source 34 via the power line, or electrical conductor leads68. Rather than requiring a separate communications line coupling theelectronic controls of the upper unit 12 with the base unit 14, a toggleswitch 73 (FIG. 5) can be operably coupled with the power line orelectrical conductor leads 68 to introduce a PWM signal via the powerline or electrical conductor leads 68 in response to inputs from theelectronic controls of the upper unit 12, which can be considered theuser control portion, and to effect operation of a function or componentat the base unit 14, which can be considered the surface cleaningportion. Non-limiting examples of such exemplary functions, components,and features that can be controlled include the diverter assembly 50,50′, including the solenoid piston 56 and the inductive coil, edgeilluminators 60 for operating in an edge mode, the pivoting pedal 108,and the switch 70. It will be understood that communicating via thepower line or electrical conductor leads 68 can be used to control anyfunction or component of the vacuum cleaner 10. Any suitable function orcomponent can be controlled such that the PWM signal input sensed by thePCB 74 or other controller 77 signals the PCB 74 or other controller 77to effect a change or an action.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of various functional systems of a surfacecleaning apparatus 2 in the form of an exemplary vacuum cleaner 310. Thefunctional systems of the exemplary vacuum cleaner 310 can be arrangedinto any desired configuration including as a portable cleaner adaptedto be hand carried by a user for cleaning relatively small areas. Thevacuum cleaner 310 can be adapted to include a hose or other conduit,which can form a portion of the working air conduit between a nozzle andthe suction source.

The vacuum cleaner 310 can include a recovery system 314 for removingdebris from the surface to be cleaned and storing the debris. Therecovery system 314 can include a suction inlet or suction nozzle 316, asuction source 318 in fluid communication with the suction nozzle 316for generating a working air stream, and a recovery container 320 forseparating and collecting debris from the working airstream for laterdisposal.

The suction nozzle 316 can be provided on a base or cleaning headadapted to move over the surface to be cleaned. An agitator 326 can beprovided adjacent to the suction nozzle 316 for agitating the surface tobe cleaned so that the debris is more easily ingested into the suctionnozzle 316. Some examples of agitators 326 include, but are not limitedto, a horizontally-rotating brushroll, dual horizontally-rotatingbrushrolls, one or more vertically-rotating brushrolls, or a stationarybrush.

The suction source 318 can be any suitable suction source and isprovided in fluid communication with the recovery container 320. Thesuction source 318 can be electrically coupled to a power source 322,such as a battery or by a power cord plugged into a household electricaloutlet. A suction power switch 324 between the suction source 318 andthe power source 322 can be selectively closed by the user, therebyactivating the suction source 318.

A separator 321 can be formed in a portion of the recovery container 320for separating entrained debris from the working airstream.

The vacuum cleaner 310 shown in FIG. 20 can be used to effectivelyremove debris from the surface to be cleaned in accordance with thefollowing method. The sequence of steps discussed is for illustrativepurposes only and is not meant to limit the method in any way as it isunderstood that the steps may proceed in a different logical order,additional or intervening steps may be included, or described steps maybe divided into multiple steps.

In operation, the vacuum cleaner 310 is prepared for use by coupling thevacuum cleaner 310 to the power source 322. During operation of therecovery system 314, the vacuum cleaner 310 draws in debris-ladenworking air through the suction nozzle 316 and into the downstreamrecovery container 320 where the fluid debris is substantially separatedfrom the working air. The airstream then passes through the suctionsource 318 prior to being exhausted from the vacuum cleaner 310. Therecovery container 320 can be periodically emptied of collected fluidand debris.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating that the vacuum cleaner 310can include a housing 330 with an upright assembly 332 and a baseassembly 334. The upright assembly 332 can be pivotally connected to thebase assembly 334 for directing the base assembly 334 across the surfaceto be cleaned. It is contemplated that the vacuum cleaner 310 caninclude any or all of the various systems and components described inFIG. 20, including a recovery system 314 for separating and storing dirtor debris from the surface to be cleaned. The various systems andcomponents schematically described for FIG. 20 can be supported byeither or both the base assembly 334 and the upright assembly 332 of thevacuum cleaner 310.

FIG. 22 illustrates a partially-exploded view of the vacuum cleaner 310of FIG. 21. The upright assembly 332 includes a hand-held portion 336supporting components of the recovery system 314, including, but notlimited to, the suction source 318 and the recovery container 320. Byway of non-limiting example, the suction source 318 can includes amotor/fan assembly 424 (FIG. 27).

The hand-held portion 336 can be coupled to a wand 340 having at leastone wand connector 342. In the illustrated example, both a first end 344of the wand 340 and a second end 346 of the wand 340 include a wandconnector 342. The wand connector 342 at the second end 346 of the wand340 can be coupled to the base assembly 334 via a wand receiver 348. Thewand connector 342 at the first end 344 of the wand 340 can couple to asecond wand receiver 350 within the hand-held portion 336. It iscontemplated that the wand connectors 342 can be the same type ofconnector or can vary. Any suitable type of connector mechanism can beutilized, such as a quick connect mechanism or a tubing coupler innon-limiting examples.

A pivotal connection between the upright assembly 332 and the baseassembly 334 can be provided by at least one pivoting mechanism. In theillustrated example, the pivoting mechanism can include a multi-axisswivel joint assembly 352 configured to pivot the upright assembly 332from front-to-back and side-to-side with respect to the base assembly334. A lower portion 354 of the swivel joint assembly 352 is locatedbetween the wand 340 and the base assembly 334. The lower portion 354 ofthe swivel joint assembly 352 provides for pivotal forward and backwardrotation between the wand 340 and the base assembly 334. An upperportion 356 of the swivel joint assembly 352 is also located between thewand 340 and the base assembly 334 and provides for lateral orside-to-side rotation between the wand 340 and base assembly 334. Morespecifically, the lower portion 354 of the swivel joint assembly 352 iscoupled between the base assembly 334 and the upper portion 356 of theswivel joint assembly 352. The upper portion 356 of the swivel jointassembly 352 is coupled to the wand receiver 348 at the second end 46 ofthe wand 340. Wheels 358 can be coupled to the lower portion 354 of theswivel joint assembly 352 or directly to the base assembly 334, and areadapted to move the base assembly 334 across the surface to be cleaned.

The hand-held portion 336 can also include the recovery container 320,illustrated herein as a dirt separation and collection module 360fluidly coupled to the suction source 318 via an air outlet port 362.The dirt separation and collection module 360 can be removable from thehand-held portion 336 by a release latch 364 as shown so that it can beemptied of debris.

An upper end of the hand-held portion 336 can further include a handgrip 366 for maneuvering the vacuum cleaner 310 over a surface to becleaned and for using the vacuum cleaner 310 in hand-held mode. At leastone control mechanism is provided on the hand grip 366 and coupled tothe power source 322 (FIG. 20) for selective operation of components ofthe vacuum cleaner 310. In the contemplated example, the at least onecontrol mechanism is an electronic control that can form the suctionpower switch 324.

The agitator 326 of the illustrated example includes a brushroll 370(FIG. 23) configured to rotate about a horizontal axis and operativelycoupled to a drive shaft of a drive motor via a transmission, which caninclude one or more belts, gears, shafts, pulleys, or combinationsthereof. An example of which will be explained in more detail below. Anagitator housing 372 is provided around the suction nozzle 316 anddefines an agitator chamber 374 (FIG. 23) for the brushroll 370 (FIG.23).

Referring now to FIG. 23, a recovery airflow conduit 375 can be formedbetween the agitator housing 372 and the dirt separation and collectionmodule 360. For example, a hose conduit 376 in the base assembly 334 canbe fluidly coupled to a wand central conduit 378 within the wand 340.The hose conduit 376 can be flexible to facilitate pivoting movement ofthe swivel joint assembly 352 about multiple axes. The wand centralconduit 378 is fluidly connected to a dirt inlet 380 on the dirtseparation and collection module 360 via the air outlet port 362.

In the illustrated example, the power source 322 is in the form of abattery pack 382 containing one or more batteries, such as lithium-ion(Li-Ion) batteries. Optionally, the vacuum cleaner 310 can include apower cord (not shown) to connect to a wall outlet. In still anotherexample, the battery pack 382 can include a rechargeable battery pack,such as by connecting to an external source of power to rechargebatteries contained therein.

During operation of the vacuum cleaner 310, the power source 322 cansupply power for the suction source 318, such as by way of non-limitingexample a motor/fan assembly 424 (FIG. 27) to provide suction throughthe recovery airflow conduit 375. Debris-laden working air within theagitator housing 372 can be directed through the flexible hose conduit376 and wand central conduit 378 before flowing into the dirt separationand collection module 360 by way of the dirt inlet 380 as shown. Inaddition, the swivel joint assembly 352 can provide for forward/backwardand side-to-side pivoting motion of the upright assembly 332 withrespect to the base assembly 334 when moving the base assembly 334across the surface to be cleaned. Additional details of the motor/fanassembly 424 (FIG. 27) are described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,064,530, issuedSep. 4, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 24 illustrates an exemplary hand grip 366 that can be utilized inthe vacuum cleaner 310. The hand grip 366 can include a user interface384 with at least one status indicator for a component of the vacuumcleaner 310. The status indicator is illustrated in the form of asuction level indicator 386 and a battery level indicator 388. While notshown, other status indicators can be provided on the user interface384. In non-limiting examples, an LED or text display (not shown) canalso indicate that a filter is clogged, that the recovery container 320needs emptying, or that a brushroll 370 needs cleaning or inspecting.

The suction level indicator 386 is illustrated as being positioned atlateral edges of the user interface 384 and can illuminate to show acurrent level of suction power. More specifically, threeprogressively-illuminated LEDs 390 can be positioned at each lateraledge to indicate a level of suction between “high,” “medium,” and “low”suction powers for the suction level indicator 386. For example,repeated pressing of a suction mode selector button 392 can cyclethrough the “high,” “medium,” and “low” suction power levels, and eachLED 390 of the suction level indicator 386 can illuminate in sequenceaccordingly. In the illustrated example, the “medium” suction powerlevel is shown wherein two of the three LEDs 390 are illuminated on thesuction level indicator 386 of the user interface 384. It will beunderstood that, in the illustrated example, the suction mode selectorbutton 392 is configured to operate the suction source 318 (FIG. 21)with low, medium, and high suction power, which in turn operates thesuction source 318 including the motor/fan assembly 424 (FIG. 27) atpredetermined low, medium and high rotational speeds. Further still, apower button 394 can be positioned adjacent the suction mode selectorbutton 392 or elsewhere on the user interface 384 to selectively powerthe suction source 318.

It will be understood that the modes or options presented to a user maynot be labeled as “high,” “medium,” and “low” instead the modes cancorrelate to “modes” such as carpet, hard floor, and edge. While themode selector has been illustrated as a button it could be any suitableuser control including a switch or other mechanism. Regardless of thespecific mechanism utilized it will be understood that the mode selectorbutton 392 can also be configured to operably couple with a toggleswitch 373 (FIG. 20) which in a non-limiting example includes asolid-state switch. The toggle switch 373 can receives an input from themode selector button 392 via the power line 368 and any suitableconductors, the input from the mode selector button 392 indicative ofthe mode selected by the user.

The battery level indicator 388 is in the form of a series of lights,such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) 396 that progressively illuminateto show a level of charge of the battery pack 382. In an alternateexample, the battery level indicator 388 can be in the form of apre-drawn icon displayed on a screen to indicate a level of charge ofthe battery pack 382.

FIG. 25 illustrates an exploded view of the hand grip 366 of FIG. 24,which more clearly illustrates that the LEDs 390 and 396 can be providedwithin a substructure of the hand grip 366. An upper grip 400 with anaperture 402 configured to receive and surround the power button 394 andsuction mode selector button 392. A lower grip 404 coupled to the uppergrip 400 can include a reflective concave portion 406, such as awhite-colored or reflective or mirrored surface. The lower grip 404 canalso include a plurality of divider walls 408 to isolate light emittedby the LEDs 390 and 396. The LEDs 390 (FIG. 26) and 396 (FIG. 24) forthe suction level indicator 386 and the battery level indicator 388,respectively, can be positioned on a printed circuit board (PCB) 410. Inaddition, an isolator 412 can be coupled to the PCB 410 and include afirst seat 416 a for the power button 394 and a second seat 416 b forthe suction mode selector button 392. The isolator 412 can includeopenings 418 a, 418 b along each lateral edge to permit light for thesuction level indicator 386 to be emitted. The isolator 412 can furtherinclude additional openings 420 through which the LEDs 396 can shine forthe battery level indicator 388.

FIG. 26 illustrates the assembled hand grip 366. As assembled within thehand grip 366, the PCB 410 defines a lower surface 414 a and an uppersurface 414 b. The LEDs 390 for the suction level indicator 386 arepositioned on the lower surface 414 a of the PCB 410 and emit lightdownward, toward the lower grip 404 as illustrated by first arrows 423.The reflective concave portion 406 of the lower grip 404 reflects theemitted light upward, toward the upper grip 400. Over-molded portions422 of the lower grip 404 can block or redirect emitted light from theLEDs 390 to shine upwardly toward the isolator 412. The openings 418 a,418 b along each lateral edge of the isolator 412 permit the emittedlight to shine through at the edges of the upper grip 400, as indicatedvia arrow 425, thereby forming the suction level indicator 386 at eachlateral edge of the hand grip 366. It is further contemplated that theupper grip 400 can include molded or shaped portions to further director diffuse the emitted light, such as a translucent portion forming aviewing window for each LCD in the suction level indicator 386.

Turning to FIG. 27, the assembled hand-held portion 336 of the uprightassembly 332 is shown including a portion of the wand 340, the batterypack 382, the hand grip 366, the motor/fan assembly 424, and the dirtseparation and collection module 360.

As illustrated, a wand axis 426 can be defined through the center of thewand 340 (FIG. 23) and wand connector 342. In FIG. 27 the wand 340 isheld upright, and thus the wand axis 426 is vertical. In this example,references to “a vertical axis” will be understood to also refer to thewand axis 426. It will be understood, that during use the wand 340 maybe oriented in any suitable manner including angled with respect to thevertical axis.

A collector axis 428 can be defined through the center of the dirtseparation and collection module 360, and a motor axis 430 can bedefined through the center of the motor/fan assembly 424. It iscontemplated that the wand axis 426, the collector axis 428, and themotor axis 430 can all be parallel to one another as shown. Put anotherway, when the wand 340 is held upright such that the wand axis 426 isvertical, the collector axis 428 and the motor axis 430 are alsovertical.

A grip axis 432 can be defined through the center of the hand grip 366as shown. The grip axis 432 forms a grip angle 434 with respect to avertical direction, such as 60 degrees in a non-limiting example.Further, a battery axis 436 can be defined through the center of thebattery pack 382 and intersect the grip axis 432. The battery axis 436can also define a battery angle 438 with respect to a verticaldirection, such as 30 degrees in a non-limiting example. Optionally, thegrip axis 432 can be orthogonal to the battery axis 436.

FIG. 28 illustrates additional details of the dirt separation andcollection module 360. The dirt separation and collection module 360 caninclude a dirt cup in the form of recovery container 320 with an inletport in the form of the dirt inlet 380, and a separator assembly 440coupled to the recovery container 320. Working air can enter through thedirt inlet 380 and swirls around a first stage separator assemblychamber 444 for centrifugally separating debris from the working airflow. The separator assembly 440 includes a first stage separator 442,such as a grill, that, in combination with the swirling working air,removes relatively large debris out of the working air which collects ata lower portion of the recovery container 320 defining a first stagecollection area 446.

The working air moves through an inlet to a second stage separator 448in the separator assembly 440, such as a grill or a mesh configured tofilter smaller debris, and enters a second stage separation chamber 450,which is shown as a cyclonic separator herein. Smaller debris removedfrom the working air collects in a second stage collector 452 near thebottom of the recovery container 230. The first stage collector 446 cansurround the second stage collector 452 as shown.

An exhaust outlet 454 and filter housing 458 are fluidly coupled to anupper portion of the second stage separation chamber 450. Withadditional reference to FIG. 27, working air exits the second stageseparation chamber 450 through the exhaust outlet 454 and at least onefilter in the filter housing 458 and which is shown herein as apre-motor filter 456 of the motor/fan assembly 424. The filtered workingair flows into the motor/fan assembly 424 whereupon it can be exhaustedinto the surrounding atmosphere through an exhaust filter, i.e. apost-motor filter 455, and an air outlet of the working air pathwaythrough the vacuum cleaner 310, which is shown herein as formed by anexhaust grill 453.

The outer surface of the first stage separator 442 can accumulatedebris, such as hair, lint, or the like that may become stuck thereonand may not fall into the first stage collection area 446. FIG. 29Ashows the separator assembly 440 being removed and FIG. 29B shows theseparator assembly 440 fully removed from the recovery container 320 toempty collected dirt and debris from the first and second stagecollection areas 446 and 452.

The separator assembly 440 can further include a ring 461 slidablycoupled to the recovery container 320. The ring 461 can be coupled to awiper 460, such as an annular wiper, configured to contact the firststage separator 442. The separator assembly 440 can be lifted upwardswith respect to the ring 461 and recovery container 320. During thislifting, the ring 461 temporarily remains coupled to the recoverycontainer 320, either by friction fit or a mechanical coupling such asbayonet hook, for example, and the wiper 460 slides or scrapes along thefirst stage separator 442 to remove accumulated debris from the outersurface of the first stage separator 442 or grill, which falls down tothe first stage collection area 446.

When the separator assembly 440 has been raised to a predeterminedlevel, it can lift away from the recovery container 320 along with thering 461 and wiper 460. The recovery container 320 can then be invertedto remove dirt and debris from the first and second stage collectionareas 446 and 452. After emptying, the separator assembly 440 can berepositioned within the recovery container 320 and the ring 461 can onceagain be coupled to the recovery container 320 for additional use of thevacuum cleaner 310.

FIG. 30 shows additional details of an exemplary wand assembly, whichcan include a wand body 462 enclosing the wand central conduit 378. Inone example, the wand body 462 can be formed from an extrusion ofaluminum, and is illustrated as having an exterior rounded triangulargeometric profile defining an outer periphery 468 (FIG. 31). Wandconnectors 342 can couple to the wand body 462 at each end 344 and 346.A first wand connector 342 can couple the wand body 462 to the baseassembly 334 and a second wand connector 342 can couple the wand body462 to the hand-held portion 336 (FIG. 22).

A decorative insert 466 can be coupled to at least a portion of the wandbody 462. In the illustrated example, the decorative insert 466 can bein the form of a flat plate and configured to couple to a recessedportion defining a face 464 of the triangular shaped wand body 462.Optionally, the decorative insert 466 can included rounded edges to formsmooth surface transitions between an outer surface of the decorativeinsert and a second face of the wand body. It is contemplated that thedecorative insert 466 can be formed of plastic, including transparent ortranslucent plastic. Optionally, the decorative insert 466 can includelogos or other markings or indicators for operations of the vacuumcleaner 310, or locating features so as to couple a correct end of thewand body 462 to one of the base assembly 334 or hand-held portion 336of the upright assembly 332, for example.

FIG. 31 illustrates a sectional view of the wand 340. It is contemplatedthat the wand body 462 can include an outer wall defining the outerperiphery 468 with at least one inner partition 470 defining the wandcentral conduit 378. The outer wall defining the outer periphery 468 isfurther illustrated as including a hook 472 defining a correspondingrecess 474 on either side of the face 464. Protrusions 476 on eitherside of the decorative insert 466 can be received within the recesses474. It is contemplated that the protrusions 476, or the entiredecorative insert 466, can have material flexibility such that theprotrusions 476 can be “snap-fit” into the recesses 474 of the wand body462. In another non-limiting example, the protrusions 476 can be made ofa material having higher elasticity than that of a remainder of thedecorative insert 466, such as a plastic decorative insert having rubberhooked portions configured to snap-fit or snugly insert into therecesses 474 of the wand body 462.

FIG. 32 illustrates another example of a wand assembly that can beutilized in the vacuum cleaner 310. In the illustrated example, the wandbody 462 a can have a generally V-shaped geometric profile with an openface 463 on one side, such as by forming a V-shaped extrusion ofaluminum. A tubular member 465 can be coupled within the wand body 462a. The tubular member 465 can have an inner surface defining the wandcentral conduit 378 a, and an outer surface shaped to form a smoothsurface transition between the tubular member 465 and the wand body 462a.

FIG. 33 illustrates a sectional view with the tubular member 465 aassembled within the wand body 462 a. The wand body 462 a can have anouter wall 468 a with at least one projection 476 a. The tubular member465 a can have a corresponding at least one recess 472 c formed byspaced walls 472 a and 472 b. The at least one recess 472 c isconfigured to surround the at least one projection 476 a to securely fixthe tubular member 465 a in place. In one example, the at least oneprojection 476 a can be formed from an elastic material to provide“snap-fit” coupling between the tubular member 465 a and wand body 462a. In another example, the wand body 462 a can have sufficientelasticity such that the tubular member 465 a can be press-fit into thewand body 462 a, and the at least one projection 476 a can “snap” intoplace within the corresponding at least one recess 472 c.

The tubular member 465 a can be formed from a transparent material suchas extruded thermoplastic or polycarbonate material. In such a case, theassembled wand would include a transparent face defined by the exposedface of the tubular member 465 a when assembled within the wand body 462a. In this configuration, a transparent tubular member would providevisibility within the wand central conduit 378 a, such that dirt anddebris moving through the conduit would be visible to a user duringoperation of the vacuum cleaner 310. Additionally, potentialobstructions or clogs within the tubular member could also be viewed ina facile manner through the transparent tubular member. A transparentsection 467 has been illustrated in the tubular member 465 a by way ofnon-limiting example.

FIG. 34 illustrates one example of a base assembly 334. The baseassembly 334 can extend between a first side 480 and a second side 482and a cover 484 can at least partially define the agitator chamber 374therebetween. An aperture 486 is located in a portion of the second side482 and allows for insertion and removal of the brushroll 370. A frontbar 488 extends between the first side 480 and the second side 482 alonga lower portion of the base assembly. The front bar 488 is configured tobe located behind the cover 484 when the cover 484 is mounted. Aheadlight array 490 is illustrated as being located on the front bar 488and extending along the width of the base assembly between the firstside 480 and the second side 482. The headlight array 490 can be anysuitable illumination assembly including an LED headlight array. Eventhough the headlight array 490 is positioned under the cover 484 it canbe considered to be positioned along an outer portion of the baseassembly 334. In one example, the cover 484 can include a transparentportion such that when installed, the transparent portion covers andprotects the headlight array 490 and permits emitted light to shinethrough to the surface to be cleaned. In another example, the cover 484can leave the headlight array 490 uncovered so as not to block emittedlight from the headlight array 490.

A brushroll 370 can be positioned within the agitator chamber 374 bysliding a first end through the aperture 486 located at the second side482 of the base assembly 334. When fully inserted, a second end 370 b ofthe brushroll 370 can be flush with the aperture 486. In addition, thehose conduit 376 can fluidly couple the agitator chamber 374 to the wandcentral conduit 378 (FIG. 23).

The base assembly 334 can include a brush drive assembly 492 positionedopposite the aperture 486 and configured to drive rotational motion ofthe agitator 326 (e.g. brushroll 370) within the agitator chamber 374.The brush drive assembly 492 can have components including, but notlimited to, a brush motor 526, a belt 528 within a belt housing 529, anda brush drive gear 520.

Additional details of the brushroll 370 are shown in FIG. 35. The firstend of the brushroll 370 can include an end plate 494 having projections496, such as teeth, configured to engage a portion of the brush driveassembly 492 (FIG. 34). The brushroll 370 further includes a centralshaft 522 coupled to brush bearings 524 (FIG. 36) at each end. In theillustrated example, the brushroll 370 includes a bristled brushroll 370with offset, swept tufts 502 extending along an outer surface of thebrushroll 370. The bristle tufts 502 can be positioned offset from acenter line 504 of a tufting platform 506, and the tufts 502 can also benon-orthogonal to the tufting platform 506. In this manner, the bristledbrushroll 370 can be configured to prevent hair from wrapping around thebrushroll 370 during operation. Additional details of a similarbrushroll are described in U.S. Publication No. 2018-0125315, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The assembled base assembly 334 is shown in FIG. 36, where theprojections 496 of the end plate are coupled with the brush drive gear520. In this manner the brush drive gear 520 is also coupled to theshaft 522 by way of a drive gear bearing. With additional reference toFIG. 34, as the brush motor 526 drives rotation of the belt 528 andbrush drive gear 520, the brushroll 370 can be rotated at a variety ofspeeds depending on the selected suction mode (FIG. 24). A brush removalendcap 530 at the second end of the brushroll 370 provides for unlockingor removal of the brushroll 370 from the agitator chamber 374, such asfor cleaning of the bristle tufts 502.

It is contemplated that a variety of agitators 326 and brushrolls 370can be utilized within the agitator chamber 374. FIG. 37 illustrates amicrofiber brushroll 510 that can be utilized. The microfiber brushroll510 is similar to the bristled brushroll 370; one difference is theouter surface includes a microfiber layer instead of bristles. Whereasbristles can be utilized to lift hair and debris from carpet fibers, themicrofiber layer can lift dirt and debris from hard surfaces such aswood or tile. Each of the brushrolls can include a brush removal endcap498 including fasteners 512. In the illustrated example, the fasteners512 include bayonet fasteners wherein a given brushroll is insertedthrough the aperture 486 and rotated, for example by 30 degrees, to lockthe brushroll into place within the agitator chamber 374 (FIG. 38) viacorresponding fastener receivers 514. It will be understood that otherbrushroll types not explicitly described can be utilized in the vacuumcleaner 310.

FIG. 38 illustrates the base assembly 334 sitting on a surface to becleaned, the surface to be cleaned defining a first plane 530. Asillustrated in cross-sectional view a center line of the headlight array490 can be defined as a second plane 532. The second plane 532 is spacedabove the first plane defined by the surface to be cleaned by a height534. It has been determined that providing the headlight array 490 closeto the first plane 530 and relatively low on the base assembly 334provides unexpected benefits. The height can be any suitable smallheight that provides such benefits including, by way of non-limitingexamples, spaced above the surface to be cleaned at not more than 30 mm,at less than 20 mm, and at 15.8 mm. Further still, by way ofnon-limiting example, the illuminance measurements as a delta fromambient values at 2 meters from the headlight array 490 can be 16 Luxand at 10 cm can be greater than 1000 Lux. In another example, theheadlight array 490 can be aligned with the lower front edge of thefront bar 488.

More specifically, during operation of the vacuum cleaner 310 when theheadlight array 490 provides illumination it has been determined thatthe placement of the headlight array 490 in this very low positionacross the front of the base assembly 334 illuminates the surface to becleaned very well, including that dust and/or debris are illuminatedexceptionally well. It has been determined that performance isnoticeably better as compared to when LEDs are mounted higher up andpointing downwardly at the surface to be cleaned. Because of the lowposition of the headlight array 490 and because the headlight array 490faces forward and projects illumination at substantially a horizontalprojection along the second plane 532 shadows are cast by debris on thesurface to be cleaned and these shadows are very obvious to a user ofthe vacuum cleaner 310. It will be understood that the beam provided bythe headlight array 490 can be projected with a zero-degree angle thatprovides a beam that is parallel to the surface to be cleaned as definedby the first plane 530.

By incorporating the communication method as described with respect toFIGS. 1-2 in the vacuum cleaner 310 as described in FIGS. 20-38, avariety of functions and features of the vacuum cleaner 310 can becontrolled a power line 368 or one or more conductor leads. By way ofnon-limiting example, a power communication system can be utilizedrather than requiring a separate communications line to couple theelectronic control of the upright assembly with the base assembly. Morespecifically, the power communication system of the vacuum cleaner 310can include the power line 368 and at least one user control in the formof the suction mode selector button 392, and a toggle switch 373 (FIG.20), which is operably coupled with the power line 368 to introduce aPWM signal via the power line 368 in response to inputs from the suctionmode selector button 392 to effect operation of a function or componentat the base assembly 334. A separate processor or controller such as thecontroller 377 can be included in the base assembly 334 and beconfigured to receive the PWM signal via the power line 368.Alternatively, or additionally, a controller can be included in thecomponent itself located in the base assembly 334 such as a motorcontroller for the brush motor 526. Further still, the controller 377can be separate from a “main controller” (not shown) that can controlportions of the upright assembly such as the motor/fan assembly.

The controller 377 can be configured to receive the PWM signal providedby the power communication system via the power line 368 or variousconductor leads. More specifically, during operation the suction modeselector button 392 can be utilized to select one of the mode. Asexplained above the mode can refer to an operational mode such as thetype of flooring or to a suction level by way of non-limiting examples.

The toggle switch 373 can receive an input from the mode selector button392 via the power line 368 and any suitable conductors, the input fromthe mode selector button 392 is indicative of the mode selected by theuser. The toggle switch 373 can then introduce a PWM signal to thecontroller 377 over the power line 368, the PWM signal provided to thecontroller 377 via the power line 368 corresponding to the mode inputreceived by the mode selector button 392 or other user controls. In thisway, the mode selected by the user at the mode selector button 392generates an input to the toggle switch 373 that determines the pulsewidth of the PWM signal then provided from the toggle switch 373 to thecontroller 377 to cause an operation at the base assembly 334 thatcorresponds to the mode selected by the user.

It is contemplated that during operation of the vacuum cleaner 310 thatno mode may be selected and that the toggle switch 373 is notintroducing a PWM signal over the power line 368 and the signaltransmitted over the power line 368 to the controller 377 is typicallyhigh or uninterrupted, and can be thought of as representing 100% powertransmission. When a communication signal is transmitted from the usercontrol, including but not limited to the suction mode selector button392, this can provide an input indicating a different mode of operationto the toggle switch 373 and the toggle switch 373 is prompted tointroduce or toggle the PWM signal over the power line 368.

It is contemplated that the vacuum cleaner 310 may only be operationalin a mode or when a suction mode is selected. By way of furthernon-limiting example it is contemplated that a first mode can include anauto sensing mode and that when this mode is selected an 80% duty cyclecan provide an input to the controller 377 to indicate that one or morecomponents of the base assembly 334 should be operated in the autosensing mode, a 60% duty cycle can provide an input to the controller377 to indicate that one or more components of the base assembly 334should be operated in the carpet mode, a 40% duty cycle can provide aninput to the controller 377 to indicate that one or more components ofthe base assembly 334 should be operated in the hard floor mode. Thecontroller 377 as part of the powerline communication system isconfigured to affect a particular function or control of one or morecomponents in response to the characteristics of the PWM signalreceived. The powerline communication system can be utilized to controlany number of features and functions. Further, non-limiting examples ofsuch functions, components, and features that can be controlledindividually or in combination include an agitator 326 or brush motor526, a headlight array 490, or other components or functions provided atthe base assembly 334.

It will be understood that the above disclosure provides for a number ofbenefits including co-opting the power line or electrical conductorleads by using powerline communications. The powerline communicationsystem and surface cleaners utilize a PWM signal, which is introducedover line or leads and a signal is encoded by either the duty cycle ofthe PWM signal or the frequency of the PWM signal, which will beunderstood to be the inverse of the pulse width modulation. The signalis intermittent, in that during operation, the power line or electricallead is primarily high and when a communication signal is transmitted, asolid state switch toggles the PWM signal over the line and then theline returns to high such that the DC power is essentially uninterruptedas far as the load at the foot is concerned.

To the extent not already described, the different features andstructures of the various aspects of the present disclosure may be usedin combination with each other as desired. Thus, the various features ofthe different aspects may be mixed and matched as desired to form newaspects, whether or not the new aspects are expressly described.

Further aspects of the invention are provided by the subject matter ofthe following clauses:

1. A powerline communication system for controlling a function oroperation of at least one component within a surface cleaning device,the powerline communication system comprising a power source, at leastone user control adapted to receive an input from a user, a controllerlocated remotely from the at least one user control and configured tocontrol operation of the at least one component, and a power lineelectrically coupling the power source, the controller, and the at leastone component and wherein the power line is further adapted to provide acommunication signal between the at least one user control and thecontroller.

2. The powerline communication system of any preceding clause whereinthe power source includes a DC battery-powered power source.

3. The powerline communication system of any preceding clause, furthercomprising a switch configured to introduce the communication signalover the power line as a pulse width modulation signal based on theinput received by the at least one user control.

4. The powerline communication system of any preceding clause whereinthe controller is configured to determine one of a duty cycle of thepulse width modulation signal or a frequency of the pulse widthmodulation signal and the controller is configured to operate the atleast one component based thereon.

5. The powerline communication system of any preceding clause whereinthe controller is in a base of the surface cleaning device and the usercontrol is in a handle.

6. The powerline communication system of any preceding clause whereinthe communication signal is intermittently transmitted and electricalpower at the base is substantially uninterrupted.

7. The powerline communication system of any preceding clause whereinthe at least one user control is a mode selector configured to selectone of a predefined set of modes.

8. A vacuum cleaner, comprising: a base assembly including a basehousing having a suction nozzle and adapted for movement along a surfaceto be cleaned; an upper unit pivotally coupled to the base housing andhaving a handle; at least one user control located on the upper unit,the at least one user control adapted to receive an input from a user; asuction source in fluid communication with the suction nozzle forgenerating a working airstream through the vacuum cleaner; a powersource; at least one electrical component provided with the basehousing; a controller located remotely from the at least one usercontrol and configured to control operation of the at least oneelectrical component; and a power line electrically coupling the powersource, the controller, and the at least one electrical component andwherein the power line is further adapted to transmit a communicationsignal between the at least one user control and the controller.

9. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the power sourceincludes a DC battery-powered power source.

10. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause, further comprising aswitch configured to introduce the communication signal over the powerline in the form of a pulse width modulation signal based on the inputreceived by the at least one user control.

11. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the controller isconfigured to determine one of a duty cycle of the pulse widthmodulation signal or a frequency of the pulse width modulation signaland the controller is configured to operate the at least one electricalcomponent based thereon.

12. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the controller isprovided with the base housing and the at least one user control is onthe handle.

13. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the communicationsignal is intermittently transmitted and electrical power at the baseassembly is substantially uninterrupted.

14. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the at least oneuser control is a mode selector configured to select one of a pluralityof predefined set of modes.

15. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the switch isconfigured to introduce a different duty cycle of the pulse widthmodulation signal for each of the plurality of predefined set of modes.

16. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the base assemblyfurther comprises an agitator chamber at the suction nozzle and the atleast one electrical component is a motor operably coupled to anagitator therein.

17. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the handle isdefined on a hand-held portion, the hand-held portion having a hand gripand the suction source.

18. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein the at least oneelectrical component is a headlight array located along a forwardoriented portion of the base housing, providing a beam that issubstantially parallel to the surface to be cleaned and spaced above thesurface to be cleaned at not more than 30 mm.

19. The vacuum cleaner of any preceding clause wherein a working airpath is at least partially defined by a wand operably coupled betweenthe base assembly and the hand-held portion and wherein the hand-heldportion further comprises a debris removal assembly including a recoverycontainer provided in fluid communication with the suction source andthe suction source includes a motor/fan assembly operably coupled to thedebris removal assembly to form a single, hand-carriable unit.

20. A method of communication for a surface cleaning apparatus, themethod comprising outputting power via a DC battery-powered sourcethrough a power line; receiving a user input at a user control;generating an input to a toggle switch based on the receiving the userinput; outputting a pulse width modulation signal along the power lineto a controller during the outputting power; and operating, via thecontroller, a component of the surface cleaning apparatus based on thepulse width modulation signal.

While aspects of the present disclosure have been specifically describedin connection with certain specific aspects thereof, it is to beunderstood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation.Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope ofthe forgoing disclosure and drawings without departing from the spiritof the present disclosure which is defined in the appended claims.Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relatingto the aspects disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting,unless the claims expressly state otherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A powerline communication system for controllinga function or operation of at least one component within a surfacecleaning device, the powerline communication system comprising: a powersource; at least one user control adapted to receive an input from auser; a controller located remotely from the at least one user controland configured to control operation of the at least one component; and apower line electrically coupling the power source, the controller, andthe at least one component and wherein the power line is further adaptedto provide a communication signal between the at least one user controland the controller.
 2. The powerline communication system of claim 1wherein the power source includes a DC battery-powered power source. 3.The powerline communication system of claim 1, further comprising aswitch configured to introduce the communication signal over the powerline as a pulse width modulation signal based on the input received bythe at least one user control.
 4. The powerline communication system ofclaim 3 wherein the controller is configured to determine one of a dutycycle of the pulse width modulation signal or a frequency of the pulsewidth modulation signal and the controller is configured to operate theat least one component based thereon.
 5. The powerline communicationsystem of claim 4 wherein the controller is in a base of the surfacecleaning device and the user control is in a handle.
 6. The powerlinecommunication system of claim 5 wherein the communication signal isintermittently transmitted and electrical power at the base issubstantially uninterrupted.
 7. The powerline communication system ofclaim 1 wherein the at least one user control is a mode selectorconfigured to select one of a predefined set of modes.
 8. A vacuumcleaner, comprising: a base assembly including a base housing having asuction nozzle and adapted for movement along a surface to be cleaned;an upper unit pivotally coupled to the base housing and having a handle;at least one user control located on the upper unit, the at least oneuser control adapted to receive an input from a user; a suction sourcein fluid communication with the suction nozzle for generating a workingairstream through the vacuum cleaner; a power source; at least oneelectrical component provided with the base housing; a controllerlocated remotely from the at least one user control and configured tocontrol operation of the at least one electrical component; and a powerline electrically coupling the power source, the controller, and the atleast one electrical component and wherein the power line is furtheradapted to transmit a communication signal between the at least one usercontrol and the controller.
 9. The vacuum cleaner of claim 8 wherein thepower source includes a DC battery-powered power source.
 10. The vacuumcleaner of claim 8, further comprising a switch configured to introducethe communication signal over the power line in the form of a pulsewidth modulation signal based on the input received by the at least oneuser control.
 11. The vacuum cleaner of claim 10 wherein the controlleris configured to determine one of a duty cycle of the pulse widthmodulation signal or a frequency of the pulse width modulation signaland the controller is configured to operate the at least one electricalcomponent based thereon.
 12. The vacuum cleaner of claim 11 wherein thecontroller is provided with the base housing and the at least one usercontrol is on the handle.
 13. The vacuum cleaner of claim 12 wherein thecommunication signal is intermittently transmitted and electrical powerat the base assembly is substantially uninterrupted.
 14. The vacuumcleaner of claim 12 wherein the at least one user control is a modeselector configured to select one of a plurality of predefined set ofmodes.
 15. The vacuum cleaner of claim 14 wherein the switch isconfigured to introduce a different duty cycle of the pulse widthmodulation signal for each of the plurality of predefined set of modes.16. The vacuum cleaner of claim 12 wherein the base assembly furthercomprises an agitator chamber at the suction nozzle and the at least oneelectrical component is a motor operably coupled to an agitator therein.17. The vacuum cleaner of claim 12 wherein the handle is defined on ahand-held portion, the hand-held portion having a hand grip and thesuction source.
 18. The vacuum cleaner of claim 17 wherein the at leastone electrical component is a headlight array located along a forwardoriented portion of the base housing, providing a beam that issubstantially parallel to the surface to be cleaned and spaced above thesurface to be cleaned at not more than 30 mm.
 19. The vacuum cleaner ofclaim 17 wherein a working air path is at least partially defined by awand operably coupled between the base assembly and the hand-heldportion and wherein the hand-held portion further comprises a debrisremoval assembly including a recovery container provided in fluidcommunication with the suction source and the suction source includes amotor/fan assembly operably coupled to the debris removal assembly toform a single, hand-carriable unit.
 20. A method of communication for asurface cleaning apparatus, the method comprising: outputting power viaa DC battery-powered source through a power line; receiving a user inputat a user control; generating an input to a toggle switch based on thereceiving the user input; outputting a pulse width modulation signalalong the power line to a controller during the outputting power; andoperating, via the controller, a component of the surface cleaningapparatus based on the pulse width modulation signal.